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Rating: 
Summary: Not bad
Review: Anderson represents the old Amazon's myth and builds a classical fantasy novel,with battles,blood and angry women.Good reading,but not necessary
Rating: 
Summary: Not worth the money just for the historical perspective
Review: The first of the two stories is amusing in its humor and interesting from an historical point of view. As soon as the reader gets past the first chapter you start to notice subtle incongruencies, this because the original story was written in 1959. It offers some insights into what was considered to be acceptable and normal at the time in Sci-FI as a genre and in America as a whole. Many of the comments and assumptions the author makes would be considered blatantly chauvinistic and insulting to women by today's standards. Which is not to say that the author is a chauvinist just that what was acceptable in 1959 is not acceptable by today's standards. As one reads you can find many of these cultural incongruencies that serve to illustrate may of the changes in America in the past 41 years. As far as entertainment goes this is an amusing, lighthearted and funny story although the writing can, at times, seem a bit overly simple. As a long time Poul Anderson fan I can recommend "Virgin Planet" as a stand-alone story. What I cannot recommend is "Star Ways" it has all of he bad points of "Virgin Planet" without the saving sense of humor. When taken as a whole I am sorry I spent the money and so will you if you do too.
Rating:
Summary: Not worth the money just for the historical perspective
Review: The first of the two stories is amusing in its humor and interesting from an historical point of view. As soon as the reader gets past the first chapter you start to notice subtle incongruencies, this because the original story was written in 1959. It offers some insights into what was considered to be acceptable and normal at the time in Sci-FI as a genre and in America as a whole. Many of the comments and assumptions the author makes would be considered blatantly chauvinistic and insulting to women by today's standards. Which is not to say that the author is a chauvinist just that what was acceptable in 1959 is not acceptable by today's standards. As one reads you can find many of these cultural incongruencies that serve to illustrate may of the changes in America in the past 41 years. As far as entertainment goes this is an amusing, lighthearted and funny story although the writing can, at times, seem a bit overly simple. As a long time Poul Anderson fan I can recommend "Virgin Planet" as a stand-alone story. What I cannot recommend is "Star Ways" it has all of he bad points of "Virgin Planet" without the saving sense of humor. When taken as a whole I am sorry I spent the money and so will you if you do too.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to get past the sexism
Review: The first story in the book is mildly interesting, but the extremely (by today's standards) sexist assumptions that underpin the book are tiresome by the time you get to the end of the story. After reading it, I couldn't muster the energy to read the second story. Setting the sexism aside, it's not the best example of Anderson's work. Spend your time reading something else unless you really want a lesson in attitudes toward women in the late 1950's, as insight into that period is its main virtue.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to get past the sexism
Review: The first story in the book is mildly interesting, but the extremely (by today's standards) sexist assumptions that underpin the book are tiresome by the time you get to the end of the story. After reading it, I couldn't muster the energy to read the second story. Setting the sexism aside, it's not the best example of Anderson's work. Spend your time reading something else unless you really want a lesson in attitudes toward women in the late 1950's, as insight into that period is its main virtue.
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